Listened to this today as the start of a 19.5 retrospective. It’s not great, but it’s not abysmal either.
3 Likes
(copied from a different thread, I’m lazy okay lol)
I thought it was just kind of alright. The monsters were pretty cool albeit maybe a bit overdeveloped? They’re skeletal beings that move and also are hybrids and then they’re pre-dinosaurs and then they have evolution that allows them to produce fields that drive people mad and then they’re capable of getting more intelligent through feeding and then…, yeah it’s a bit much. I liked the setting, I liked 5 and Nyssa and I liked Tulung. Unfortunately I thought the villain and the other side characters were kinda weak. I’m not knowledgable of native Alaskan culture so I’m unsure if it was portrayed accurately, but Gaborik came across as a bit of a stereotype.
Overall, it was never boring, but also not much more than just alright. 5/10.
9 Likes
It certainly was an audio drama, not the worst but also not great. The sound design is kind of all over the place, which was distracting. Once again, the story ends up loosing its threads a lot, a common criticism I’ve had for these early Main Range audios. And the treatment of the Native American characters in this story? Yikes, I would definitely say it’s culturally insensitive. I did, however, appreciate Five and Nyssa’s dynamic here.
9 Likes
I had no Idea what this Story was, I was dreading it since I didn’t think the Cover was too appealing and in general I am kinda dreading some of the early Monthlies (I will finish the first 50 someday, I promise!)
So let’s talk about this Story. I was a bit surprised, actually getting around to it. Dinosaurs in Who are rare so it’s always nice seeing them and I will say I see Potential in its Plot. Most of this Potential goes from the rather excellent first part. Nyssa and 5 feel right out of their Era in their Tardis Scenes, those were easily my favorite Scenes of this whole Play! It builds up a great Sense, and it feels like we are setting Things up greatly for something Nice. Sadly, starting with Part 2, the Story loses its Momentum. And by Part 4, I kinda lost Interest, fully wanting it to be over. The final Taste of a Story is very important, a big Reason why Stories such as Love and Monsters (which I actually like) and Idiots Lantern (which I don’t like) live in such an infamous Status. Both end for many on such a weird or outright bad Note, and nowhere is this more true than here. It just becomes super generic and boring, and repeat with me: Doctor who stories should never be boring!
There is also the Handling of Native American Characters, which is really done poorly. And the Sound Design is one of the weakest one for sure.
I did enjoy Monica, even if it was obvious who she was supposed to be a Stand-in. Overall I think the Story rates very much in the middle, if it wasn’t for an excellent first Part, I would rate it so much lower.
8 Likes
In real life, I’m 27 stories into my relisten of the main range, and this one still holds the dubious honour of being in last position in my over-engineered scoring sheet. There’s a reason for that; this one was a slog.
It’s a story that should work: eerie setting, fossilised monsters, ancient myths, and the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa front and centre. But somehow, it all ends up feeling lifeless. The pacing is glacial, the characters are either forgettable or frustrating, and Nyssa might as well have stayed in the TARDIS for all the impact she has. Even Davison, giving it his usual breathless charm, can’t save it from itself.
What really grated, though, was how clumsily the story handled its themes. There’s a rich white man causing havoc on Native American land, and rather than explore that sensitively, it just throws in some mystical vibes and calls it a day. It’s not offensive so much as it is just half-baked and tone-deaf. Honestly, I kept waiting for the tension to kick in… and I’m still waiting. Big Finish had already proven they could do better before this (Whispers of Terror says hi), and thankfully they bounced back after. But this one? One to endure, not enjoy.
(My original rant about this is over on Substack…)
9 Likes
Yep, you’re right, Part One does some heavy lifting to set the scene… weirdly, that makes me even sadder because it shows that the component parts were there! 
4 Likes